I Just Gotta Know
by HopeForDuende
Summary: Chris 'Perry' is dead set on saving Wyatt, but maybe one girl can crack through his outer shell to bring him happiness and make his mission that much easier. Together they'll help the sisters, and along the way maybe she'll find out the truth about Chris, and find true love. Chris x OC set season 6 onwards. Chris/oc.
1. Chapter 1

The cave is dark, dank and dreary- among other 'd' words. Dismal even, but I simply raise my hand, clicking my thumb and forefinger together with a _snap_. Light bursts from my fingertips, illuminating the once lightless cave.

From what I can see, the cave stretches for miles. Damn. I'll have to do some walking. My head itches, a result of whatever knocked me out no doubt. Whatever jumped me has dumped me here. It's cold- I wish I'd worn my jacket.

A shiver runs through me as my footsteps echo in the vast space. The flames dancing in my hand create freeky shadows on the rock walls surrounding me. "Hello?" I venture a yell. I hear as the sound waves return to me twice over, but as far as I can tell nobody responds.

Fear creeps low in my guy and I squash it down. This isn't the worst thing I have faced. I won't even bother getting started on that low level group of demon ninjas. That right, _ninja _demons. Gross.

After what seems to be an hour of walking (who knows? It's impossible to tell the time) I reach an opening in the cave. Its a wide space, no exit to the outer world but a satisfying change from the bland cave tunnels I've gotten used to. With a cautious glance I raise my palm.

A moment later a fireball shoots from my open hand, flying straight forward and lighting up as much of the space as it can. Nothing other than more boring rock. I groan and start forward again, keeping my flames high so I can keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

My eyes never trail down to my feet, because what threats lie in wait on the ground? Turns out this was a bad idea.

"Shit!" I swear as I trip over something big. The lights go out as I use my hand to catch myself- lest I break my neck.

The ground comes far too quickly, and I land hating lay on my shoulder. Lucky enough I don't hear the _snap_ of a bone breaking, so maybe I've only bruised it. Hopefully.

You definitely can't take on a demon with only one arm.

Hissing in pain, I push myself upright but freeze when I feel something move right in front of me. Whatever I have tripped on... It's alive.

Immediately I scramble to raise my hand. With a snap of my fingers fire bursts into life in my hand once more and I can finally identify what I'd tripped over.

I'd tripped over a boy, a young man at that. He had dorky, floppy, brown hair that fell over his hazel eyes. To my amusement I realised he was wearing a hoodie, at least he's thought to wear something warm.

Also, as far as I could tell, he was a human.

Witch, or innocent?

"What the hell man?" I ask as I nudge him with the heel of my ankle boot. He sits up, rubbing his eyes. "Wha'?" He asks, voice slurred. "Where am I?" The man continues, slightly more coherent.

I shrug. "No idea."

"Who are you?"

"You first."

He rubs his eyes again, and I watch the movement closely. "Chris," he answers after a moment. His gaze connects with mine again, and I try my best to look in control. To not show how much this whole scenario freaked me out. "Are you okay?"

I'm surprised by his question, by his concern. It must show on my face because he flashes me a tiny, reassuring smile. "Yeah," I breathe out after a moment. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bump on the head. And you?"

Chris glances down at himself, raising his arms and looking them over each. I follow the motion with my eyes, enjoying the look of his tone muscles beneath his jacket. "I think I'm alright. So what's our situation exactly? How long have you been here?"

"It's hard to tell." I hold out my non-flaming hand, wouldn't want to burn him. He eyes it for a moment before grabbing it. I haul him up with a bit of effort and once he's standing he dusts himself off. It's when he finally looks up from his dusty pants, his eyes widen at the sight of fire in my palm. I step back at the spark of fear that bursts behind his eyes, and raise my free hand in a calming gesture. "Before you get any ideas, I won't hurt you."

He nods to the flame. "What's that?"

"Fire."

"No, I get that. But how?"

Well crap.

"I… uh. Well. I'm a Witch."

He shakes his head. "No, I get that. How are you creating the flame? What spell?"

"Wait," I narrow my eyes. "Are you a Witch?"

He shifts, looking hesitant to admit the truth. I study him closely. Now that he's standing, I can see it in the way he holds himself. I myself had trained in many forms of self defense, and Chris holds the posture of someone constantly wary of being attacked. Exactly how I try to stand. "Look," I cut in. "It's not my place to interrogate you or pressure you into saying stuff you don't want to. As far as I can see it, as long as you don't try to kill me then I won't be forced to vanquish you."

"I'm not a demon!" His shout reverberates in the vast space, and I glare at him. "Keep it down," I hiss. He relents, crossing his arms and taking a far more casual stance. "Answer the question."

"I'm a spark," I tell him simply. "A what?"

"A spark." For emphasis, I raise my hand an lob a fireball at a nearby wall. As it collides with the solid rock it bursts in an explosion of light. "I've been able to manipulate fire since I was eight. No spell, no potion, no charms. Just plain old mental power." I tap my noggin significantly.

Chris continues to ponder the flame as it flickers in my palm, as though trying to find hidden meaning to the fire. I begin to feel slightly self-conscious, so I clear my throat. "Greetings over? Good to meet you Chris and all that yack."

He tilts his head. "You haven't told me your name yet."

"Oh, right." I feel my cheeks redden slightly. I don't like telling people my name, and Chris- for whatever reason- makes me more nervous than anyone else had. "Delmira," I explain. "It's… It's German."

He frowns, lips quirking slightly with amusement. I'm about to rant at him but then he leans forward slightly, eyes softening into something comforting. "I like it. Pretty, unusual, better than Chris."

I blink at him, then mumble a shocked thanks.

Chris smiles once more before nodding and heading off in a random direction, going to the edge of where my flame lights before turning back to me. "Where have you checked so far?"

"That way," I say with a gesture to the East. "There's a tunnel that stretches a few miles, and it branches off to another tunnel but only once. I think we should try that way."

"Yeah?"

"Unless you have any other ideas?" I prompt.

He frowns and looks to the ceiling. "I can't orb. Something is blocking my powers."

"Orb?" I ask, confused.

"Orbing." He tucks his hands into his pockets, abashed. "I'm half Witch, half Whitelighter."

I frown. "What's a Whitelighter?"

At my question, his mint green eyes widen. "You… You're a Witch and you don't know what a Whitelighter is?" I shrug, "nope."

"Well," he starts walking in the direction I had pointed. I follow after him, eager to learn more about the Mag world. "My father was a Whitelighter, my mother a Witch. A Whitelighter is a kind of… guardian angel, who protects and guides good Witches and future Whitelighters to protect and nurture them for their intended destiny."

"Huh. A guardian angel would've been nice."

"So how did you find out you were a Witch then? How did you learn to use your powers?"

I stiffened at his words. There was no way in hell I wanted to tell him my past, even though I feel an odd sense of trust with him. "So who do you think took us?"

Chris narrows his eyes at the subject change, but goes along with it, much to my relief. "An upper-level demon, most likely. Whoever or whatever it is though, it's mad at both of us. Real mad." I frown. That doesn't sound good. "What do we do then? We don't have any potions, or any way to get out of here."

"We have to keep looking," is all he said.

I pursed my lips, not really liking his answer, but willing to go along with the only plan we had. Chris lead the way, staying just within the reach of my light. We made it to the end of the larger space of the cave, discovering yet another tunnel. I glower at it in disdain. "Please tell me we're not going through that."

In answer, Chris hazards his way inside the space. I groan, but follow after him. No way am I being left behind. "So… What else do you know? About Witches and stuff?"

"That depends," he spoke. "How much do you know?"

"Clearly not enough," I joked.

"I was taught. My whole family were Witches. They passed their knowledge down to me. Especially my mother, she was a talented Witch, one of the best to ever exist. I learned so much from her."

There was something in his tone, something sad and longing. I walk faster to press my side flush against his, an attempt to comfort him. He peeked at me from the corner of his eyes and I nudge him with a teasing smirk. "She sounds like a badass."

"She was," he agrees after a moment, tiny smile growing on his face. "Anyway. She taught me, passed down the knowledge. Now I have three Witches teaching me. Well technically, I'm _guiding _them, being their Whitelighter and all."

"How's that going?" I ask, intrigued.

"Pretty badly actually. They don't like to listen to me."

"I don't see why not." I look to my feet, slightly embarrassed. "You seem very smart, Chris."

There's silence, heavy and obvious in the lonely caverns. I spy at him through the corner of my eye, seeing him slightly unhinged by my words. "Thanks," he admits finally. I tilt my head at his tone, looking up to survey his expression. "Surely you've heard that before?"

"No."

"What?" I gasp in shock. "Huh. Well I guess there's a first time for everything."

We pause at an intersection, and I quickly send a fireball down each path. Both only reveal more rock as far as the eye can see, and something heavy settles in my stomach. Disappointment, hopelessness and anguish.

Chris, seeming to pick up on my change of mood, holds his hand out for me to take. "Come on," Chris says with a smile. "We've gotta keep moving."

"Alright."

I take his hand, and he debates a moment before pulling me in the left direction. There's nothing new to see, more rock and boring specks of dust motes. The air seems more stale than a few moments ago, and my breaths become more rapid.

"Hey." Chris voice snaps me out of my panic, and he squeezes my hand. "Tell me more about yourself. What do you do?"

"I work from home. Basically I manage advertising for about a dozen websites. It pays well enough, gets me a lot of connections. And it works out with all the demon hunting and such."

"Oh yeah? How'd you get into that?"

I grin. "An innocent I saved, actually. He was so kind, ambitious. I saved him from a Kieran demon. After that he helped me out, got me a computer and everything."

"You've done a lot of good in your life, haven't you Delmira?"

It was the first time he's said my name, and a thrill runs through me at the sound of it on his lips. He has this way of saying it, the syllables rolling off his tongue deliciously... I shake my head of these thoughts. What the hell? "I try."

"You do this all on your own?" He questions. "Ever met another Witch?"

I nod once, short and tense. "Yes. She was a bitch, never talked to her again. I actually think she got killed by a Succubus, but I can't be sure." The memory of her is still fresh in my mind. It'd been so wonderful to meet another Witch, at first, but then when she had ditched me in the middle of a vanquishing… "So. So far you're doing much better than her."

"Good to know." He stops suddenly, arm flying to hold me back, halting my movement. "There's something ahead."

"Demon?"

"Maybe."

I squint into the distance, trying to make out what he was talking about. "How do you know?"

"Sensing," Chris shrugs. "It's a Whitelighter power."

"Okay…" I draw out the word, a hint of skepticism entering my tone. None the less, I face the darkness with a newfound determination and raise my free hand. As our fingers unlink, Chris's hand drops to his side. "Let's hope it can be burned," I gulp and channel a flame in my hand.

The fireball I release is of my most powerful, and it soars forwards with vegence. As it lights the distance, slowly the demon is revealed. It's a short male, lower class, and just before my fireball reaches it, the demon dives to the side. The fireball crashes hard against the wall, and the whole cavern shakes.

"Duck!" Chris cries, and soon I find myself being shoved to the side, cradled to a firm chest as the rubble falls from the roof. I squeeze my eyes shut, and await a cave in.

Luckily enough, nothing more than harmless shards of rock fall, and Chris helps me up a moment later. "Yeah, I won't be doing that again."

Chris nods breathlessly, and turns back towards where the demon had been.

It's still there, looking slightly shaken by the strength of the blast, but otherwise undeterred. IT raises its own hand then, and Chris shoves me behind him. As the demons powerful energy ball flies towards us, Chris raises and flicks his hand.

Nothing happens.

With a swear under his breath, he presses us flat against the wall, and the energy ball flies harmlessly past us, disappearing far in the distance. "I can't use my powers down here, Delmira. You're going to have to kill him."

"We don't have any weapons Chris, and it's too risky to be lobbing fireballs all over the place."

He holds my gaze for a few seconds, before nodding. "Okay, okay." He looks to the ground, deep in thought. I turn from him to the demon, who is now slowly approaching and readying another energy ball. I bite my lower lip, nerves churning my stomach uncomfortably. Suddenly Chris's head snaps up, and he turns with determined eyes. "Can you keep him busy? At least for a few minutes."

"I can try. What have you got planned?"

"A spell, our best shot."

I think over his words, before smirking. "A few minutes of distraction coming up!" I turn from him and stalk forwards towards the demon. "Here creepy soulless thing! Come get me."

My taunt has the intended effect. It's new energy ball aims straight for me and I swiftly raise my free hand. With a grunt of effort, I create a small wall of fire that doesn't last for long, just enough to block the energy ball.

The demon seems frustrated now, preparing to attack again. I shake my head. "Not so fast," I tell it. With a determined flick of my wrist I lob three consecutive fireballs. My forehead beads with sweat, arms beginning to shake from exertion.

At least one of my fireballs manages to hit, singing the edge of the demon's shoulder. It roars in pain, furious voice echoing throughout the tunnel. I grin and prepare to lob more fireballs before it can recover.

The flames swell in my hand, swirling and tumbling until it amasses to a basketball sized ball of fire. My head throbs in pain, I've never had to create so much fire in my life. The demon manages to create an energy ball just in time, and the two attacks collide in a huge explosion of light. I duck just in time, having moved further in front of Chris to try and block him from the demon's sight. Too close apparently, because some of the flames manage to catch on my shirt.

Having been practicing my spark for majority of my life, I'm more than used to being set on fire. As weird as that is to say. I don't hesitate to pat down the flames, quick enough that they don't mar my skin. It's weird. I can hold a live flame in my hand, but I can still burn.

"You ruined my best shirt," I thunder and stomp forward. In my anger I completely miss the giant energy ball the demon has lobbed at me. It hits me square in the chest before I can block it, and I go flying backwards. I feel skin sizzle, and the force of the attack knocks the wind out of me.

"Delmira!" I hear Chris call. A second later there are arms snaking under my shoulders, hauling me backwards. "Delmira, you okay?" He asked, voice shaking with worry.

Before I can answer, an energy ball explodes above our heads and Chris leans over me almost immediately. His body shields me from the debris, and his mint green eyes lock on to my ochre brown ones. "I'm alright," I croak out. "How's the spell?"

"Done, but he needs to die first. It can't teleport us unless the area is clear of anything other than Witches." Chris's admission comes with a large amount of regret and worry. Despite that, I find myself grinning. "Thank God. I wouldn't want to leave this bastard unscatched after he hit me."

Chris's brow creases, but I shove him aside with great difficulty and haul myself upright. My left hand immediately comes to clutch my chest, and I stagger to my feat. There's blood slowly soaking into my shirt, but I've been worse off than this. I can still kill this demon. As long as I can still see straight I can lob a fireball.

"Hey!" I shout. Chris steadies me from behind, touch light as he cradles my waist. The demon glares at me from just under a mile away, face illuminated by the slowly growing energy ball in his hand. "It's rude to take such a cheap shot!"

It's much like a Western showdown, who can draw and fire their gun quickest?

The demon seems in the lead, having already _created _his energy ball, but I match him three to one and soon our attacks are colliding right in the middle.

He must have only expected _one _fireball, because as soon as my first takes care of hsi _only _energy ball, two more fireballs are flying at his face.

The demon bursts in flames with a satisfying roar of pain. I watch until it's burned to ashes, before collapsing into Chris's arms. "Got him boss," I inform Chris lighty.

He's not even remotely amused by my words. I pout. "You gonna do the spell or what?" I ask him. My eyes are drooping, black spots dancing in my vision. His hand is fussing over my chest, trying to stem the bleeding. "Chris?" I whisper.

Hearing his name snaps him out of it, and he finally meets my gaze. "Huh?" He asks, eyes wide and panicked. A second later he remembers what I've said and nods fiercely. "Yeah, hold still. It'll feel a bit weird," he tells me.

I shrug, despite the pain. It's not like I can move anytime soon.

I'm not sure exactly when. Maybe it's when he brushes a strand of hair from my cheek, or when the world bursts in a bright blue shine, but my eyes finally drift shut. I'm unconscious before I can even ask him for his number.

X

_Everything _hurts when I finally wake. My head pulses with pain, my chest is sore as _hell _and my arms feel as though they're made of lead. It's awful, worse than that time I got jumped by a group of thron demons. I rub at my forehead with my hand, blinking my eyes open gradually. The lights are off, but the room is lit by sunlight streaming through a window.

I admire the morning light. Good. I'm not dead. I let out a relieved giggle and turn to look around the rest of the room. I lay in a lovely queen bed, adorned with cozy blankets and decorative pillows. I sit up slowly, taking my missing shirt and jeans. Huh. Someone had changed me. My cheeks warm at the thought of _Chris _changing me, at least until a five-foot-two girl peeks her head in.

"Oh! Great, you're up." She bustles her way in, offering a glass of water. I tilt my head at her. Curious. She seems… interesting. I quickly look over her short cut brown hair and gorgeously styled clothes before taking the offered drink. "Thanks," I tell her gratefully. "I can't believe it's possible to be so thirsty."

"Understandable." She sits down at the edge of the bed, seeming immediately comfortable with me. It's kind of overwhelming, but not… _weird_. Almost… refreshing. It's hard to gain someone's trust so quickly these days, and for whatever reason this lady trusts me straight away. "You've been out for two days."

I almost spit out my drink. "Two days?" I gasp.

"Two days," she confirms with an understanding smile. "Chris brought you in on Monday. It's early Wednesday morning now. We were worried you wouldn't wake for a few more days. How do you feel?"

"Like shit," I tell her bluntly.

She laughs. "Energy balls will do that to you."

I nod slowly, finishing off the rest of my water before she takes it from me and pats my duvet covered leg. "Stay in bed, at least till this afternoon. From what we could tell there's no serious damage to your chest, just some burnt skin. You're healing really quickly though… Chris said you were a spark or something?"

"He didn't explain?" I ask, confused.

"Nah. He normally just dumps stuff on me and my sisters and skedaddles."

I frown. Are these the three Witches Chris had mentioned? I suppose it would make sense. As though sensing my curiosity the Witch smacks her forehead with an embarrassed laugh. "Oh! My bad. Totally forgot to introduce myself. I'm Phoebe."

"Delmira," I tell her easily. I wasn't at all worried how she would perceive my name.

"Well Delmira. I'll be back with lunch in a jiffy. I'm guessing you're hungry?"

"Starving," I reaffirm.

She lets out a chortle of laughter. "Right then. A big heaping plate of Piper's casserole coming up." Phoebe leaves with the same kind of energy to her step and I'm left wondering who the hell Chris had left me with.

For now though, I go back to looking around the room. The furnishings are all very warm and comforting. This is definitely a family home, and an old one at that. Perhaps passed down through generations. My eyes finally land on the chair by the corner, my jeans- washed and folded- sat neatly on the cushion. I pout for a moment, remembering how my favorite shirt was ruined.

Bummer.

Content with the knowledge I'd gained, I finally turn to look at myself. I seem to be boring one of the Witch's shirts. A simple sky blue cotton throw over. Comfy sweatpants hung low on my hips, and much to my relief I was still wearing the same underwear. Yes! It's good to know no one's seen me completely naked.

At last I pick at the bandage. It's not soaked in blood, which I assume is a good sign. It has a moist feel to it however, an ointment perhaps? The way the cloth was wrapped neatly around my midriff made me guess these people had treated injuries like these many times before.

With a start I look to the dresser, and thank _God _my cellphone is there, in seemingly perfect condition. I'd only just brought a new one, the last having suffered an unfortunate fate in a wrestle with a demon. Mostly I use it for business emails…. and snake.

I have an awesome high score on that, nearly five hundred.

Heh…

I'm such a loser.

The door is nudged open soon, and both Phoebe and another girl poke their heads in. "Knock knock," Phoebe greets and walks in. She carries a tray of steaming beef casserole and my stomach grumbles unbidden. The girl behind her, a blonde haired girl with bright brown eyes, lets out an amused snort. "Phoebe said you were hungry, guess she was right."

"Ignore my sister," Phoebe says as she places the tray across my lap. "She's just mad because her latest temp job was a bust." The blonde shrugs. "Turns out fairies can be annoying as hell."

I quirk a brow. "Fairies?"

"Yeah you know," she gestures. "Little girls with wings that fly around and- _apparently-_ prank people. Anyway, hi, nice to meet you! I'm Paige."

Paige holds out her hand, and I shake it, careful not to tip my lovely bowl of food. "Delmira."

"So um," Paige glances at Phoebe, who sends a quick glare at the taller girl. Seeming to ignore whatever warning Phoebe was sending her, Paige continues. "Chris kind of dropped you off without much of an explanation."

Phoebe glares at Paige for a few more moments before relenting, giving into her curiosity. "What my sister is trying to say, is that our wayward Whitelighter only told us you were hit by an energy ball. If you can… could you explain what happened?"

Suddenly though, before I can say anything, a bright burst of blue light fills the room. I'm tempted to flinch away from the new threat… but I don't. It's not until Chris appears that I figure out why.

He ignores the two sisters, gaze immediately landing on me.

"Hey," he greets.

My cheeks warm at the amount of attention I'm suddenly receiving. "Hi."

"You're up," he continues.

"Yeah."

"How do you feel? I went and got you some herbs and such- Phoebe said she'd make the ointment for me. I'm not sure if it will work or not but I have on good authority that it will heal all wounds. I figured an energy ball burn would count as a wound so I… I made sure to get all the ingredients and I _would _have made it myself but then I wanted to track down the place they held us and make sure all the demons who captured us were dead and…" He blinks suddenly, as though realizing he was rambling. "I uh. Yeah."

I can't help but smile in both amusement, and from the bright burst of _warmth _suddenly filling me. He seems like… he seems like he genuinely _cares _about my well being. "I'm fine, thanks. the ointment worked. Thank you."

Damnit. Did I just say thanks, _twice_?

It's then that I remember there's more than one person in the room and I turn to look at the sisters. Paige is looking on, completely uninterested, but Phoebe is frowning, as though in deep thought. "Well um," Phoebe finally speaks up. "We'd better leave you to eat your lunch." She nudges Paige pointedly, and the blonde nods. "Got it. Ciao!"

I watch in fascination as the two leave, pulling the door closed behind them.

With great hesitancy, I turn back to Chris. He seems almost as embarrassed as I am, so with a shrug I gesture to the bowl in front of me. "Want some beef casserole?"

"No I uh-" he chuckles nervously. "I'm fine. Thanks, though."

"Right."

"So. I see you've met the sisters."

"Two of them," I nod. "They both seem really nice. Generous. They patched me up, huh?"

"Yes." Chris's stance shifts, becoming defensive. "I made sure to tell them _how _to fix you up though. Energy balls are a serious matter and I wanted to make sure…" He trails off when he notices my slowly growing amused grin. "Again," I say with a huff of laughter. "Thanks Chris."

"Yeah. Good," He nods. "So I'll… let you eat I guess."

Fear spikes in my chest, and I sit up straighter. "You'll be back, though?"

"Oh yeah!" He quickly reassures me. "I'm just going to check on the sisters, then deal with a demon horde. Think you'll be up and moving this afternoon?"

"With your magical concoction, I'm sure."

He smiles, a small, little smile that shy and adorable. "Bye, then."

"Bye," I farewell, with a slight wave.

Chris waves back, hand moving in an awkward jerk before disappearing in a burst of bright, blue light.

With one last amused huff I turn to my food and grab up the fork. The first mouthful is divine… and the second, and the third. Too soon I've finished with the whole bowl, and I _want _to ask for more, but my stomach is far too full for a second helping.

Having a content, full stomach brings my drowsiness back on full force, and I carefully set the tray on the bedside table before settling down into the bed and letting my eyes fall shut. Sleep comes easily, and I'm more than happy to let it.

I dream of bright blue lights and warm, soft palms caressing my own. It leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy, _very _un-badass like, but I can't complain. When I wake the room is darker than it had been, lit with an orange glow from the sunset outside.

I yawn as I stretch, feeling joints pop and muscles relax. The bedside table is clear of my lunch tray from earlier, and there's a fresh glass of water waiting for me. Carefully, I move to stand, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. When nothing hurts, simply a dull ache in my chest, I push myself onto both legs.

It's amazing how well I've healed in such a short period of time. I grab the water and take small sips as I head out of the room. I nudge the door open, revealing a long hall that leads to a flight of stairs. There's a bathroom halfway down the hall, and I stop in quickly to relieve myself and freshen myself up.

My hair is a mess, all knotted and _slightly _bloody. I wash the blood out in the sink as much as I can before untangling the golden brown curls with my fingers. Once down, I borrow a hair tie from a tub at the side of the sink and tie my hair up in a plait. My face is unharmed, other than a slight bruise forming at my temple from when I'd been knocked out, everything seems fine.

If only I had my eyeliner though… I feel bare without it.

Once finished, I grab my glass again and continue onwards. When I come to a staircase leading up, or down, I frown. After a moments concentration I can hear the whispers of conversation from below. Down it is then.

My feet pad on the carpet with soft _thuds_. Pictures line the walls, and I quickly scan them over as I descend. "-And then of course Elise increased my word limit, why wouldn't she? With the response I've been getting. The… _freakish _amount of response."

"That's good though, isn't it?" I hear Paige ask.

Finally I get to the landing and walk forwards, towards a lovely looking sitting room. Phoebe is the one with her side to me, and she notices me as soon as I step through the threshold of the room. "Delmira!" She exclaims brightly, standing to greet me. "So good to see you're walking around. Did you find your way alright? Sorry. If I'd known you were awake I would've given you a tour."

"You have an awesome house," I tell her. She gestures to the sofa she was sitting on, and I take the left side so she can have the right. "My apartment seems so _bland _compared to this."

"Please," Paige brushes me off. "We really can't take any claim over the decorations. That was here long before us." Phoebe shrugs, "I agree with you though Delmira, it is pretty awesome, isn't it? Not to brag, of course."

I look around the room as they speak, wondering what exactly their life is like. Witches, living in suburbia? I chuckle quietly to myself. "Dinner should be ready soon," Phoebe pipes up. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Oh," I blink. I hadn't considered that. "Where are we exactly?"

Paige laughs. "San Francisco, why?"

"Oh! Awesome," I grin. "I live on Mission Street, how far are we?"

Phoebe purses her lip in thought. "Maybe just under half an hour?"

"It's late," Paige speaks up. "You most as well stay another night. Besides, you're still not one hundred percent better yet and you haven't even met Piper yet."

"Oh that's right!" Phoebe jumps up, heading deeper into the house. "Kitchen," she mentions as though sensing my confusion. "Piper wants to meet you."

I turn, curious, to Paige. She folds her arms. "Excuse my sister. Excuse _both _of them actually, they're awfully… exuberant lately. Phoebe because she's doing well at work and Piper… well. We're not sure about Piper, I'll get back to you on that one."

That brings pause to my thoughts. I've never had much of a family, and it's interesting to see their dynamics. "You're sure, about me staying the night?" I ask to double check.

"Honey, we have three spare rooms and more than enough casserole to feed an army. Stay as long as you want. Any Witch is a friend of ours, especially one who saved our Whitelighter."

I frown. "I didn't save him…"

"Ah. I like you. You're of those noble types. I see."

"He's the one who got us out of there," I try to defend him. "We'd still be stuck down there if it wasn't for him. All I did was managed to get hit by an energy ball."

Suddenly Phoebe is hurrying back into the room, dragging someone behind her. I assume it's Piper, given the casserole in her hands. "Delmira! This is Piper. Piper, meet our Whitelighter's savior."

"It's wonderful to meet you finally!" The lady chirps, holding out her free hand to shake whilst balancing the casserole in her other. I take it hesitantly, offput by how… _bubbly _she seems. "Dinner is ready, you'll be joining us right? I'd love to get to know you."

"Uh, yeah." My response is automatic, spurred by her excitement. "Great!" She chirps and bustles off. I turn with a quirked brow to Paige, who simply give me a looks saying 'I told you so'.

Phoebe claps her hands suddenly, and I turn to face her. "Well that's everyone! Oh wait! You haven't met Wyatt yet."

"Wyatt?" I ask.

Paige gets up to stand at my side. "He's Piper's son. Be warned, he's a cheeky little fella."

"A kid," I muse. "Huh."

"What's that?" Paige asks, turning from following after Phoebe.

I shift, slightly uncomfortable. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but if you're all Witches, what are you doing bringing up a kid in an environment like that? I'm _one _Witch and I get at least three demon attacks a month, and here… there's _three _of you."

"We'll keep him safe," Paige insisted, growing defensive. I raised my hands in a surrendering gesture and tried to backtrack. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to offend you. I just… I have experience with this kind of thing. I had someone close to me once… She didn't make it."

Paige sobered instantly, a somber mood falling upon the both of us. She looked like she wanted to say something, but suddenly Phoebe came back into the room. "You coming to see the baby boy, or not?"

I mask my face, and flash a smile at her. "Sure Phoebe."

She holds out her hand and I take it, letting her guide me forward. Paige follows behind after a few moments with a frustrated sigh. Phoebe takes me to the living room, and in the corner is an adorable kid with short blonde hair. He's playing with a toy dinosaur and I can't help but grin. "You're totally into dinosaurs huh? I was too when I was your age." I crouch down in front of his playpen and lean on the fencing. "You must be Wyatt."

Wyatt looks up at me, shy smile growing on his face. "You're just _adorable_." I grin at him, reaching down to pick up a race car he wasn't playing with. "How old is he?" I ask to no one in particular.

"Six months," Phoebe says with a broad smile. "He's our little Prince."

Paige crouches down next to me and picks Wyatt up. She bounces him on her hip for a few seconds as she stands. "You wanna hold him?"

I gawk. "Really?"

"For sure," she holds him out for me. "Here you go!"

"How do I-" Before I can ask how to hold him Paige practically shoves the baby into my hands. I fumble for a few moments, much to the two sister's amusement. He's deceptively heavy, but despite this he settles comfortably in my arms.

Phoebe grins and turns to her sister. "She's a natural."

"Yeah," Paige agrees with a nod.

"I'm glad you guys have confidence in me."

Both sisters laugh, and Phoebe is kind enough to hold out her arms for me. I lower Wyatt into her arms, smiling goodbye to the boy. "So!" Paige chirps. "Now that all the introductions are over, let's go see if dinner's ready."

"Brilliant idea Paige, lead the way."

I watch them as they head out through a different door, and I glance one last time at Wyatt before following after them. It leads us into yet another room, the dining room. "Wow, this is so wonderful."

Piper must have been busy whilst I was meeting her son. There was a plethora of food on the table, which was set with shining silverware and squeaky clean china. "Looks delicious," PHoebe compliments as Piper enters the room.

She smiles. "Thanks!"

I hesitate when they take their seats. Where do I sit?

Before I can choose the room lights up once more with a familiar blue light, and suddenly Chris is there. He looks immediately to me once more, that small smile growing on his face. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Chris," Piper greets. "Are you joining us for dinner?"

Phoebe quirks a brow. "Yeah Chris? You joining us for dinner?"

Paige smirks knowingly. "You don't normally," she adds onto her sister's question.

"If that's okay," Chris says, eyes not leaving mine. To my chagrin he steps towards me, around the table and pulls out a chair for me, next to Phoebe's. "Thanks." I slide into the seat easily, and he pushes it in after me.

Paige and Piper sit on the other side of the table, so we have uneven numbers. Chris debates before taking the seat next to me. I flash him a small, private smile and he returns it with one of his own. "Let's dig in, shall we?" Phoebe asks.

The cue moves us into motion. Piper behind dishing out the meals and I pour everyone a glass of water. "How did tracking down the cave go?" I ask to Chris quietly, hopefully too quiet for anyone else at the table to hear.

"Great, actually." He picks up the glass of water and takes a few sips. "I found it easily enough. There were two low level demons there, but I vanquished them easily enough."

"Is that it then? Our problem's over?"

"No," he admits regretfully. "I have a feeling our demon's were working with someone far higher in the food chain."

Phoebe must pick up on some of our words, for she tilts her head. "What's this?"

"Nothing," Chris says too quickly.

I glare at him and kick his shin lightly under the table. He huffs at me but turns to the sisters. "We were just talking about what happened to us."

"Yes!" Phoebe cheers. "Please, share away!"

Chris looks to me, mint green eyes hopeful. I purse my lips at him but turn to the rest of the table. "Well I can share my story mostly. I was heading home after trying to track down a demon and I was jumped. Whoever it was hit on the head and knocked me out. Then I… I woke up in a cave. That's how I found Chris, then together we tried to escape."

"She was amazing," Chris pipes up. "Delmira took on the demon all on her own without any weapons or potions _or _spells. She gave me enough time to get us out of there."

Paige quirks a brow. "And how did she do that?"

Chris's mouth fell open, completely unprepared to answer that question. I smiled reassuringly at him. "It's hard to explain."

"Give it your best," Phoebe tells me.

"Right well. I'm a spark. I have the ability to create and manipulated fire."

"What?" Paige asks.

"You're a Firestarter," Piper speaks up.

"Oh right! Like Tyler," Paige adds.

I frown. "What's a Firestarter?"

"It's in the Book of Shadows." Phoebe gestures upwards with her fork. "You can read the entry if you want?"

I turn to Chris expectantly. He shrugs. "Never heard of them."

Multiple conversations break out across the table. The three sisters discuss Paige's new temp job, as far as I can gather, and Chris turns to me. "So… what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Everything."

I bit my lower lip in thought. "It's amazing. They have a family… they're a family of _Witches_. I've never seen anything like it. And.. Well it's overwhelming, really."

"I have to admit, Delmira." Chris lowered his gaze, hands fiddling with a napkin. "I'm… _surprised_ how well you've managed to do without any guidance. I mean, I don't think I could have been strong enough to survive on my own, especially when I was only just learning my powers."

Something warms within me at his words, and I'm sure I'm blushing furiously when he finally dares to meet my gaze again. "Pfft," I brush him off. "I'm not as… _strong _as you're making me out to be. Besides, sometimes we just get dealt these kind of cards, you know?"

"Well maybe now… Maybe now you don't have to be strong on your own."

Chris's words cause my eyes to widen in shock. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sure… if you wanted, the sisters would be more than happy to teach you. _I _would be more than happy to teach you. Or at least help you out somehow."

I shrug. "You've already saved my life, Chris. You don't owe me anything else."

"Not like that," he amends quickly. "I mean… There's still an upper-level demon who organised your kidnapping. You'd be safer with us."

"What are you saying?"

Chris glanced at the sisters. "It's not my place to offer, but I'd really like it if you stayed here, at least until we tracked down who organised our kidnappings."

"I've taken on an upper-level demon before, Chris."

"I'm not saying you can't defend yourself," Chris quickly amends. "I just… I don't know if I could _handle _knowing you were out there on your own with no one to help you."

As soon as the words are in the air, Chris ducks his head, tips of his ears tinging red. I myself feel a blush warming my cheeks, and I dig my nails in my palm to try and regain focus. Jeez. I'd never… Well. No one has ever really cared about me like Chris seems to. "If the sisters want…" I say after a moment.

Chris's head snaps up and the biggest, most relieved smile grows on his face. "Thank you," he says quickly. "Thank you. I get how hard this probably is for you. I myself spend a lot of time on my own and I know how it can feel to have that ruined."

"Yeah well," I shrug in embarrassment. He's hit the problem right on the head. "Now you just have to convince the sisters."

Once again Phoebe must pick up on the conversation, because she turns to us with a tilted head. "Convince us of what?"

Chris, bless his heart, actually seems a bit nervous with what he's about to ask. I sneak my hand to join with his under the table, and flash him a reassuring smile. Chris glances at me from the corner of his eyes, shoulders sagging as he relaxes. "I thought it might be a good idea for Delmira to stay here, at least until we vanquish whoever organised her kidnapping."

Nobody says anything for a few long moments, and I perhaps am squeezing Chris's hand a little too tightly by the time Paige finally speaks up. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Really?" Chris blurts from my side.

Phoebe nods. "Definitely." She turns to me, "I wouldn't feel right if we let Delmira go without anyone to back her up. Although I'm sure you can take care of yourself, sweetie, I'd feel a lot better if I knew you were safe."

"This house is protected," Paige continues. "Not to mention we have hundreds of potion ingredients for anything under the sun. We can keep you more than safe."

At all of their hopeful faces, I can't help but give in to their offer. "Alright," I agree. I slowly look each of them in their eyes, landing on Chris's gaze finally. "Thanks."

X

Chris and I had gravitated upstairs to the spare room I'd woken up in. He paced the length of the floor as I swung my legs back on forth from my position on the bed. "So?"

"Oh," Chris pauses, turning to face me. He smiles a moment later, abashed. "Sorry. I was just thinking." I frown, and ask, "About what?"

"I need to tell you something."

I tilt my head. "Yeah?"

He opens his mouth, but then clamps it shut a moment later. He lets out a frustrated sigh, running his hands through his hair. I click my tongue and hope off the bed, walking up to him in three quick strides. He's taller than me by about half a foot, but I manage to meet him in the eyes easily enough.

"How about you show me the… uh, book? The one the sisters were talking about."

Chris smiles in relief, glad I'd picked up on his uneasiness. "Definitely." He takes my hand in his and tugging me along softly. My golden brown curls bounced as we walked, shoeless feet padding along the floor. "So what is this book exactly?"

"It was created by their family, knowledge passed down from generation to generation. It contains information on almost all magical beings, how to vanquish them, what their weaknesses are. It's where we turn when we need help."

"That's so cool," I tell him, mouth wide open in excitement. "I have to kept most of my information online, and half the time it's inaccurate as hell. Or from a really outdated book my-" I cut off suddenly, realizing I was sharing far too much information.

If he does notice my sudden clamped mouth he doesn't comment on it. "Yeah. Seeing as you're staying here, you can look at it whenever you want. Read up on anything you need to."

"Really?"

He nods. "Mhmm. I'm sure the sister's, as great of hosts they are, will probably ask you to help them out and make a potion sometime. You'll need the book for that."

"Potions," I muse aloud. "I've only made a few before, because I can never find the ingredients. Or half of the potion recipes end up with my eyebrows being singed off."

Chris lets out a bark of laughter. "When I was learning to make potions, I blew up the whole kitchen. we had to get it entirely remodeled."

"Oh," I hiss through my teeth. "Ouch."

He shakes his head, fond smile still in place. "It was actually worth it. We finally got a new oven. My brother… my brother used to congratulate me for it."

"Oh?" I tilt my head. "You have a brother?"

Chris freezes at that, movements stilling. "Not… exactly."

I nod slowly, understandingly. Chris has things in his past, probably just as bad as mine. I turn from him, looking for another subject. It comes in the form of a large book resting on a pedestal. "Is this the book?"

He nods, grateful for the subject change. "The Book of Shadows."

"And it was information on these… Firestarters?"

"Yeah. Now we just have to find it."

Chris rounds the book and faces it. I waddle up to his side and watch as he flicks his hands. The pages turn in time with his gestures, and he searches it with expertise. "So how long have you been the sister's Whitelighter?" I ask suddenly, curious.

"Too long," Chris jokes. I grin and he shakes his head in exasperation. "Just over five weeks."

"Here it is," he speaks up suddenly. I step forward and look at the page he had turned to. Unsurprisingly, there it is. The page on Firestarters.

"The Firestarter. An extremely rare and coveted magical creature, usually a mortal. The power is linked to their emotions. It first manifests in adolescence with the onset of puberty.

If subjugated while still impressionable, they can be persuaded to use their powers for evil. Because of this, they are often trained to be bodyguards of the Source." I frown. "Huh. I guess that explains all the hunters then."

"Rare, huh?" Chris grins teasingly at me and I nudge him in the side. "Shut up."

"Urgh," I shiver in disgust. "This book makes me sound like an… object."

"At least we know what you are now. That makes it even more incredible that you've survived. Apparently they wanted you for the Source."

"What?"

"He was the ruler of the Underworld. Very powerful, _very _evil."

"Sheesh," I whistle. "Well thank God I learned to blast things, right?"

Chris nods and steps away from the book, tucking his hands into his pockets. "It's getting late," he says, glancing out the attic window. "Where will you be sleeping?" I ask him.

"I have a place at P3, Piper's club. Most of the time I'm tracking leads though, no time for sleep. You'll be alright staying here?"

"Um. Of course," I frown at him. "Chris… you need sleep."

He shifted. "I… it's complicated."

"Right," I draw the word out, skeptical.

Chris huffs, but smiles. "Goodnight Delmira. We can swing by your place tomorrow and pick some of your things up."

I grin. "That'd be great."

He leaves in a burst of bright blue light, hand raising to give a small wave as he does.

Eventually I turn from him, looking across the attic with curious eyes.

This… This was going to be interesting.

X

Review if you want more :)


	2. Chapter 2

I page through the Book of Shadows, reading entry after entry on everything from fairies to demons. Hell, there's even an entry on _Gods_. Friggin' _Gods_! The television spouts some boring crap about stock prices increasing, and Phoebe stumbles into the sitting room as it switches to a story on vaccines. "Delmira! Hey I'm just about to head off to work. You're going to be home alone for most of the day- Piper and Paige are out as well."

"That's fine," I smile at her. "Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem."

"Have a good day at work," I call as she heads out the front door. She waves behind her, and the door shuts with a _thump_. I purse my lips in consideration. It's been what? Nearly four days since I last did any work. Damn.

Oh well. I couldn't do anything without my laptop.

Besides, I had an awesome book on every magical creature in existence to read.

I can't help but be envious of the girls. If I had of had something like this when I started my training… Let's just say it would have made things a lot easier.

Just as I finish reading a passage on rat demons, the room lights up with blue and a second later Chris stands there, hands tucked into his pockets. Mint green eyes scanning over the room until resting upon the book in my lap. "Good read?"

"The best." I grin as I place it down, closing it carefully. It may have been a magic book, but it was old as hell and there was no way I wanted to get in trouble for ripping a page. "How are you?" I ask as I turn back to Chris.

"Great," he grins. A proud spark enters his eyes. "I actually managed to sleep for four hours."

I want to tell him that he should at least be getting seven hours sleep, but there's such a child-like happiness to his expression. Like he'd cleaned up his room and wanted a pat on the back. So instead of reprimanding him, I push myself off the couch and step up to him.

"Not bad," I congratulate him. He stands taller at my praise and holds out his hand a second later. "Let's go get your stuff, shall we?"

"Sounds good."

"Where we heading?" My hand fits perfectly in his larger ones, and I smile at the sight.

"Mission Street. One-five-oh-seven, apartment five."

"Got it," Chris closes his eyes in concentration, and a moment later there's a strong _lurch _to my gut. I almost lose my grip on his hand, but he wraps his free hand around my waist, holding me steady as we arrive.

"Holy shit," I breathe, taking in the sight of my apartment. "What was _that_?"

"Orbing." Chris ganders at the room, absorbing the sight of it all.

I shrink in on myself, embarrassed. My apartments bare, walls a dull cream and furniture simple box-packed stuff from Ikea. There's nothing in the way of framed photos or pretty ornaments. There's a shelving unit in the side of the small livingroom (also serving as an office, diningroom, sitting room and pretty much every room bar the bathroom and bedroom. At least I have one of those, each.)

It contains boxes of paperwork, and a single photo of me and a slightly shorter girl. Chris steps around the leather couch, straight to a small locked cabinet at the side of my desk. He kneels in front of it and gestures with his hand.

The door opens, unlocked by magic, revealing whatever few accurate spell books I'd managed to uncover. Along with a few potion ingredients and some souvenirs from some of my grander battles. "This is all you have?" He asks, disbelief coloring his tone.

I shift my weight, ashamed. Compared to the plethora of magical things at the Halliwell mansion, my stuff looks like a pile of kids play toys. "Sorry… I couldn't find much."

"No! No that's not what I meant." He stands, shutting the door behind him. "I think it's all very impressive. Were those Griffon feathers I saw in there?"

"Yeah." I can't help but to match his grin, humbled by how enthusiastic he seems. "Wow. Those must've been hard to come by," he comments. I wave him off, "Not that hard."

He chuckles and moves over to the small hall at the back of the room that lead to the bathroom and bedroom. I followed after him, trying to remember whether my room was messy or not. Luckily he stopped, just when I realised that I may have left some dirty underwear lying around. "I'll let you grab your stuff."

"Thanks," I beam. "You can wait outside?"

Chris accepts my offer, scooting past me to head back into the living room. I wave at him before disappearing into my room.

My bedroom is one of my only indulgences. I paid extra for a memory foam mattress and satin sheets. My pillows are duck feather, cabinet full of some of the best jeans money can buy. I grab my suitcase quickly, blowing off dust. I hardly travel, so the thing had been stuffed haphazardly into the back of my closet.

I fill it quickly, grabbing only the essentials. I make sure to include some of the non-essentials though, not sure _exactly _how long I'll be staying with the sisters. Worst comes to worst, I can get Chris to magically teleport me back here so I can grab some more of my things.

When I finally get back to the living room, having cleared out my bedroom and bathroom, Chris is staring at the photo on my shelves. I grab my laptop and some of the things from the cabinet (athema, journals and my favorite stake), before joining him by the shelves. "Is that you?" He asks as I step up to his side.

"Yeah," I nod. He waits, expectantly, and I sigh before picking up the photo and pointing to the other girl in the picture. "We took this when we were twelve. She was my best friend, we were both dropped off at the orphanage when we were eight."

Chris waits, patient. I wonder if I should tell him more, I _want _to, but my chest is too tight, my throat suddenly dry and my eyes sting with unshed tears. The memory of her is too painful… too private to share with someone I'd only just met. No matter we saved each other's lives.

"You both look really happy."

"We were." I smile sadly, atmosphere growing somber.

Chris steps back after a moment, giving me space. I tuck the photo into my laptop bag and turn to him. "All set," I let him know.

"Great. We can drop this stuff off then head out for lunch?"

I grin at the sound of doo. If anything perks me up it's the idea of a good meal. "Sounds good."

He takes my hand and a second later we're orbing, setting down in the middle of my new, temporary room. Chris steps up to the standalone wardrobe and opens it wide. There are a few coathangers and he chucks them to me. "Unpack whatever you need to then we'll head out for food."

I nod and take the coathangers. There are a few dresses, skirts and shirts I need to hang, but the pants can all wait until later. Chris watches as I work, uncomfortable with the idea of handling my clothes. I'm tempted to laugh, but instead I have a few questions (more like a billion) that I want to ask. "So are Whitelighters human?"

"Whitelighters are people who were previously somehow connected to the magical world or who were generally good people that have died. These Future Whitelighters given the choice to become Whitelighters or either move on to the afterlife." He crosses his arms, "My father was a Whitelighter, he'd been changed after fighting commendably in a war."

"By who?"

"The Elders. They're a council of powerful and experienced Whitelighters that serve the greater good. The Elders manage Whitelighters and assign them to charges." His voice is patient as he explains, almost as though he enjoys teaching me the intricate details of magic.

"Huh," I hum as I hang up a cream blouse. "Alright. So what exactly can you guys do?"

"Well to be brief, orbing, sensing and healing."

"Woah! You can heal people?"

He lowers his head. "Ah. No."

"Aw," I pout. "Well that's still pretty cool, you can teleport."

"Yeah," he meets my gaze again. "You ready?"

I hang up my last shirt before turning and nodding to him. He stalks forward with long strides and holds out his hand. I take it eagerly, and soon we're orbing again.

We land in an alleyway, and I can hear cars honking nearby. The bustle of the street is a familiar and comforting sound that Chris leads me towards. "Do you have anywhere in mind?"

"No, actually." We reach the sidewalk and he hesitates on which way to go. I grin knowingly at him. "Don't get out much, huh?"

He shakes his head and I laugh quietly. "Yeah, me neither. I'm way too invested in cheesy soap operas and horror novels."

"Horror novels?"

"Yeah. I can never resist a good book by Stephen King or Anne Rice. How about that place over there? They have pizza."

Chris nods. "I do like pizza."

Hell yeah! Pizza is life. He waits for a break in pedestrian traffic before merging into the oncomers. Chris doesn't let go of my hand, and I can't find it in myself to release his grip either. There are so many people, out and about, and I can't help but burrow into Chris's side. People have never really been my thing, and judging by the tense set of Chris's shoulder, he doesn't like being out in the open as much as I do.

Despite that, he stands taller when he notices how wary I am, towering over me slightly in a protective gesture. My heart beats faster at that, cheeks warming at his concern for me.

"Hey Chris?" I ask him as we cross the street. He looks down at me, content smile on his face. "Yeah?" I grin and tug on his elbow lightly. "I'm glad it was you and not some pedo that saved me in that cave."

He chuckles drily. "I'm flattered."

I glare at him and nudge him. "You know what I mean."

"I do," he admits after a second. "Thank you. I'm glad it was you who saved me, Delmira."

I'm sure everyone can see my hundred watt smile when we enter the pizzeria. Chris is smiling slightly too, but it's his 'slight lip quirk in a dorky way' smile, rather than his wide happy grin that he saves for when he isn't in the public eye. "You know what kind of pizza you want?"

"Pepperoni, duh."

He puckered his lips, thinking. "And I guess I'll get hawaiin," he decides.

I quirk a brow. "Can I have some of your pineapple?"

"If you let me have some of your pepperoni."

I groan, feigning annoyance. "Fine You drive a hard bargain Mr. Perry."

Chris flinches at the name, and I can't help but grow confused for a second. But a moment later we're called to order, and Chris tells the teller our order.

Once he's done I spy a table near the back corner and I take him to it. He pulls out my chair _again_, and I accept the seat with a thanks. "So what does Phoebe do? And she mentioned Piper worked at a… club?"

"Oh right," Chris settles into his own chair and rests his hand on the table top with an open palm. Not missing the obvious gesture, I slide my hand into his with a timid smile. "Okay so Phoebe is a columnist for the Bay Mirror. Maybe you've heard of it? Ask Phoebe?"

"You're kidding!" I exclaim.

He laughs and shakes his head. "No, she is. She's a full on celebrity."

"Wow. I used to read her column all the time. At least until all the vanquishing and work took up more of my time." I lean back in my chair, running my hand through my curls. "Wow. I just… I can't believe it."

Chris shrugs. "And Piper owns and runs a nightclub called P3."

"Woah. How does she manage that?"

"I honestly have no idea."

I snicker. "I'll have to ask her for tips."

"So I was hoping- This afternoon, after lunch, that you'd wanna help me check in on a lead for who's behind our kidnapping?" He glances around, checking if anyone is listening in. "Given you're feeling your best again."

I was feeling a lot better. I'd unwrapped my bandages for my shower this morning, and all that was left was a rough pink circle of new skin and some slight bruising. Nothing hurtful enough to keep me from chucking some fireballs and reading out some spells.

And so I decided to tell Chris exactly that. "Hells yeah! I wanna hunt some demon ass."

"Great." We sit back as each of our pizza's arrive, and almost immediately he sneaks a pepperoni off my plate. I gape at him, smacking his hand away. "Hey!"

He smiles and picks off some of his pineapple, offering the yellow bits teasingly. "You want the pineapple, or not?" I pout. "Yeah, I do."

Chris waits until I stack _three whole_ pepperoni's on his plate before he drops a handful of pineapple slices on mine. I cheer in triumph and dig in, the beautiful mixture of salty meat and tangy pineapple leaves me moaning in pleasure.

I stop suddenly, cheeks flaming in embarrassment as I realise the noises I'd been making. Hesitantly I look up to Chris, seeing him slack jawed with a piece of pizza held to his mouth, frozen. I giggle nervously and place down my slice of pizza I'd been chewing on. "Oops."

"Urgh," he clears his throat and gestures to my pizza. "Must be really good."

My blush only deepens. "Um. Yes. It is."

Chris clears his throat again, then flashes me an amused smirk. "You better finish eating it then, or I might steal it."

"No!" I hiss, clutching my pizza protectively.

He raises his hands in surrender and I turn back to my meal. This time I make sure to finish it without another _peculiar_ sound. When I'm on my last slice I look up, seeing Chris's empty plate, and then his mint green eyes focused intently on my face. I quirk a brow at him, taking the last bite of my meal.

"Quit staring," I say around a mouthful of food. "It's rude."

"I know. Sorry."

He doesn't look away.

I snicker and dust the crumbs off my hands before wiping my mouth quickly with a napkin. "Alright I'm full. Let's go kick some demon ass."

Chris huffs out a laugh and stands, holding his hand out for me. "I can't promise that we'll get to do any vanquishing today. We're going to try and track down whoever wanted us trapped."

"Right," I nod. "But some interrogating right? Maybe?"

"Maybe." We leave the pizzeria, door _dingling _as the bell is knocked. Chris takes us to the closest alleyway, rounding the corner before he orbs us.

My stomach rumbles unpleasantly at the motion.

Make a note: No orbing after just finishing a meal.

When my feet reconnect with solid ground, I find myself in some kind of cave system, lit with red lights and filled with screams. "Where are we?" I ask, looking around with wide eyes.

"The Underworld. There's supposed to be an upper-level demon around here, trying to gain followers. You alright?"

His question startles me out of my thoughts, and I let out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Just… Never been somewhere like this before."

"You get used to it," is all he says. I'm thankful when he grips my hand tighter, and I follow after him as he leads me towards a tunnel.

Flaming torches flicker every few feet, and the deeper we travel into the caves the closer we get to the source of the screaming. There's another low buzzing joining in on the screams, shouting, discussion. There was more than one demon in these depths, and my hand twitches at my side. Whoever peeks there face out first is getting a blast of red hot fire in their face.

I'm somewhat awestruck by how confident Chris is. He walks through these hellish paths with determined confidence. I watch him, trying to see if I can match his strength.

Hopefully I at least stop looking like a spooked bunny.

"Wait," Chris suddenly shoves me to the side, into a crack in the tunnel. We press deep into the dark, chest to chest. Chris's breath brushes against my cheek, warm and comforting. I clutch his hand tightly, anxious, as a pair of demons walk past our hiding spot.

We wait until their footsteps fade into the distance before Chris gestures for me to leave the small space. I poke my head out first, clarifying the absence of demons before fully stepping out of the crevice. "All clear," I tell him.

Chris climbs out behind me, adjusting his jacket as it's brushed to the side. He glances around for a few seconds before grabbing onto my hand again and starting forward once more. I keep close to his side, trying to peer around a corner. If only I had x-ray vision.

"We're close," Chris suddenly speaks up. "I sense a great source of demonic power up ahead. Stay quiet and keep behind me. There's no way we can take this guy on alone."

"Got it," I affirm.

There's just under a mile of the same red rock before we reach a vast space, tiled with onyx rock and spattered with bones and other remains. A demon stood tall at the side of the space, in deep conversation with a group of three other demons.

"Holy shit," I swear. "Does he have… _two _heads?"

Chris presses me to the wall, keeping us hidden from the demons sight. "Seems so."

"I've never seen anything like it."

Chris makes an affirmative noise before shaking his head in disdain. "Not good. We'll need the sister's power for this." His words confuse me, what powers do the sister's have that we don't? "What?" I ask quite sophisticatedly.

"The Power of Three," he says vaguely. At my confusion he elaborates. "I'll explain later," he promises. "For now we have to get out of here. I can't orb this close to them, they'll stop me."

"Right, let's go."

He turns back int he way we came and I make sure to keep up with him, not wanting to risk being stuck with that two-headed beast. Woah, that guys was seriously _freaky_.

We made it through most of the tunnel easily enough, at least until the two demons from earlier rounded the corner ahead of us. I look to Chris, silently questioning what we should do.

"Get them," he says simply and flicks his hand.

The demon on the left flies into the wall, head _cracking _against the rock. The stone splinters, rubble falling to the ground as the demon slumps, momentarily dazed. I take after his lead, sending a series of fireballs their way.

Before my attack can reach him, the demon that's still standing raises its hand. My fireball is thrown to the wall before it can reach him, and I swear. "Telekinesis. What a cheater."

"Delmira," Chris speaks my name in a rush, and I turn to him. "We need to get out of here. This fight would have attracted every demon in a ten mile radius."

Shit. That's a _lot _of demons.

I nod and send a flurry of five fireballs before letting Chris grab my arm. He orbs us just before an energy ball collides with my head. We land in the middle of the attic, panting from the exertion of using our powers. Chris walks forward absently, running his hands through his shaggy brown hair in frustration.

"You alright?" He asks me after a moment.

I scan myself over quickly before nodding. "Yeah, think so. And you?"

"Fine," he says with a relieved smile. "Wow. That was fantastic, nice work Mira."

The nickname cuts me up short, and I gawk at him. "Mira?" I repeat.

"Yeah," he shuffles his feet. "Is that… okay?"

His bashfulness hits something tender in my chest, and a shy smile grows on my face. "Mira," I say once again. "I like it."

The grin that breaks out on his face is truly breathtaking.

"Hello! Hello?" We both turn to see Phoebe rushing into the room, anxious expression on her face. "Ah!" She chirps as she sees us. "I thought I heard voices up here. What are you two cuties doing?"

"We just got back from checking out a lead," Chris informs her simply, before turning back to me. "Check the Book of Shadows?" He suggest.

"For sure," I agree. I make my way to the book and begin paging from it, skipping what I'd already had time to read. I wonder who placed the book back on the pedestal, I'd forgotten to return it when I left.

"What lead?" Phoebe is asking Chris.

"Stirring in the Underworld-"

"Wait!" Phoebe cuts in. "Did you take Delmira to the _Underworld_?"

I look up, biting my lip. Busted.

"Yes. I did. I needed someone to help me, and _you guys_ were too busy with your 'lives' to help me. Don't forget, _Wyatt _is the one at stake here."

Phoebe gapes at him. "Chris! That's not the point. She only _just _got zapped by an energy ball, and you're taking her to somewhere as dangerous as the Underworld."

Her frustration seems to hit Chris wrongly, because he crosses his arms in defence. "Maybe next time, if any of you three are _available_, I'll take you instead. But I wasn't left much choice and besides, Mira _wanted _to go. She can create fireballs, Phoebe! That's more than you can do, hell, maybe more than Paige can do."

Phoebe grunts in anger, storming up to the boy and poking a finger at his face accusingly. "You! You… _Mister_. You don't get to decide things like that! What if Delmira had been attacked? What if she had been _killed _because she still wasn't back to one hundred percent?"

At heer words Chris's arms drop, jaw dropping slightly as his mind races with the idea. Well that's it, that's enough of that. I step from the book and walk forward so I'm standing between the two. "Look, Phoebe," I address the lady to my side. "It was my choice. Yes, a _poor _one, but it was mine. Chris didn't force me to do anything." Phoebe opens her mouth to argue, but I continue before she can. "But you're right. I was an idiot, and I won't try to do any more Witchy things until I'm all better."

Phoebe narrows her eyes, glancing between Chris and I, before nodding in acceptance. "Now… Dinner will be ready in an hour. I'd like you kids to be down there, not up here working. Especially you," she points at me. "You need to rest."

I nod and salute her. "Aiye! Aiye! Captain."

"Sorry.. Phoebe," Chris apologises just before she leaves the attic. Phoebe acknowledges it with a wave behind her and once she's gone Chris turns to the book. "We better find that demon before dinner then, huh?"

We get to work, Chris flipping through the book determinedly as I search through the other books they have laying around the attic. "Find anything yet?" Chris asks me.

I shake my head. "Most of these books are really specific, there's too much information to sift through. How's your search going?"

He simply shakes his head and continues flicking through pages. I drop the book lightly on the side table before getting up to join him. He's just flicking past a page on Fairies as I join him. I watch him look for a few minutes, admiring the concentrated look in his eyes.

After about twenty more minutes of searching, I hear Piper call up from downstairs. "Dinner!"

Chris groans, and quickens the pace of his searching. I must spot it before he does, because he's about to raise his hand and completely skip the page before I grab it. His hand jerks in mine once, not expecting me to latch onto it. "There," I say at his questioning gaze.

"Trok demon," Chris reads. The picture matches it perfectly, two heads and gnarled as heck. "A monstrous two-headed demon who generates violent waves with his roars. He can only be summoned while on an earthly plane and can be vanquished by this spell: From other world far and near…" He trails off before he can finish the spell, tapping the page.

A proud smile grows on my face. "Awesome. We did it."

"Yeah," Chris grabs up the book, marking the page with the book's tassel. "Let's go show the sisters. Hopefully we can take care of it tomorrow."

When we get downstairs, all the sisters are already eating at the table. Chris drops the book unceremoniously on the table and Paige is the first to look up. "Ew," she scrunches her nose. "What _is _that?"

"Trok demon," Chris explains. "He's the one who kidnapped us."

Phoebe sets down her fork, interested. "This was your lead you checked out?"

"Yes," I tell her. "Whatya think?"

Piper looks at the book with a frown. "I think that… we're having dinner, not _show and tell_. Put the book away and enjoy a nice meal with us."

Chris turns to me, rolls his eyes, before grabbing the book and setting it aside. He pulls my chair out once more and I sit down, Chris sitting down next to me a moment later.

"So… As I was saying! Playdates!" Piper waves her hand exuberantly.

"Yeah well I won't be any help. I have this thing tomorrow morning down at the KQSF Beach Bash. They're interviewing about the latest success of my column."

I grin at her. "That's awesome!" I exclaim.

She purses her lips, weighing her words. "It is… It is. I just… It's kind of weird isn't it?"

"It's a step in the right direction though," Paige comments. "Got to be good publicity for you."

"Yeah but… Why? Why is my advice doing so well all of a sudden? They're saying I'm _insightful_. Haven't I always been _insightful_?"

"When I used to read your columns, I always thought you connected so well with your readers. Whatever you're writing now… It must be amazing," I tell her genuinely.

Chris sends a small smile my way, before turning back to his meal. "Thanks, Delmira." Phoebe grins at me before turning to Paige. "Anyway! So, new temp job tomorrow?"

"Yup," Paige says. "I'm _super duper _excited," she drones."

I let out a snort of laughter. "Better than being unemployed."

"That's true!" Piper speaks up suddenly. "You know employment has gone down by thirty percent in the last year? Scary, isn't it?"

I frown and glance at Chris. "Does she normally spout such… _normal_ facts like that?"

He simply shakes his head, seeming to be as confused as I was.

"Yeah well… It's good. I think," Paige says."

"I think you're all missing the problem here," Chris speaks up suddenly, tone annoyed. "_Wyatt _is in danger, and you're-" He gestures spastically in his frustration. "You're making play dates and being interviewed… and… Well I don't even know what you do Paige!"

"Chris-" I try, but he cuts me off. "Can we _please _talk about the Trok demon?"

The three sisters, stunned by Chris's outburst, nod. He sighs in relief and pushes his plate away, sliding the book over. "Now we have the spell to vanquish him, I'll write it down, then you just have to bring him here. Sound good?"

They nod again, and Chris smiles sarcastically before pushing himself from the table and storming off. I frown as he leaves, turning to the sisters for an explanation.

"That's our Chris," Paige scoffs. "Neurotic little Whitelighter, ain't he?"

I frown at them and push myself from the table as well. I head in the direction Chris had disappeared, hearing the sisters resume their conversation from earlier. I search the sitting room and the kitchen, before finally finding Chris on the veranda of the living room.

"Chris?" I hedge carefully. "You okay?"

When he doesn't respond I move to his side, trying to get a glimpse of his face. He turns from me, and I smirk at him. "Come on, Chris. Don't be such a child."

His lips twitch, and I take my advantage. My hand slides through his hooked elbow and I tug him closer. He finally turns to me, eyes softening. "What's wrong?"

"It's… hard to explain." Chris trails off and looks to the sky. I wait patiently, wanting to help him through whatever was troubling him. "They just don't understand. My one goal of being here is to protect Wyatt, but they're too busy playing _civilian_ to focus on protecting him."

I nod slowly, completely understanding where he was coming from. "I get that," I tell him quietly. "There was a time… a long time ago where I just wanted to be normal. I overlooked a lot of things I shouldn't have and it ended with someone close to me…" I trail off, not able to finish the sentence.

She had died because of me, and I still haven't forgiven myself.

"Mira," Chris's eyes fill with sadness, and I sniffle as my eyes tear up. He sighs forlornly and pulls me to him, crushing me in a comforting hug. I burrow my face into his shoulder, a few tears leaking from my eyes unbidden. "I'm sorry."

I let out a burst of choked laughter. "Not your fault."

He smiles against my forehead, taking a deep breath. No doubt scenting my hair like a big ol' softie. "I've lost people to, Mira. You can't blame yourself."

"I don't," I whisper. "It's just… sometimes. Sometimes I wonder."

Chris pulls back, looking pointedly in my eyes. "Never. You could never do anything wrong. I see that. I see how good you are Mira. I mean… You were willing to _die _for me and you had only just met me."

"No. I wasn't willing to die for you actually, I just hadn't planned on getting hit."

He chuckles at my teasing. "Arrogant."

"Neurotic," I nudge his side and swing our hands back and forth. "You gonna rejoin the dinner table? Or you want to chill in my new room?"

"I actually should get going."

I pout. "You work too much."

"The struggles of being a hero," he chuckles lowly and smoothes his thumb over the back of my hand. "Have a good sleep okay? And apologies to them for me."

I smile up at him, enjoying the way the moonlight shines in his mint green eyes. "Sure. But you owe me. Big time."

"Yeah, I figured." He pulls back and gives a small wave which I return in kind.

This time I watch the blue orbs closely, smiling at the beauty of his powers.

"Delmira?" I hear one of the sisters call from inside, and I turn to see Phoebe looking somewhat abashed. "Oh good. I found you."

I glance one last time at where Chris had disappeared from before stepping inside to join Phoebe. I close the door behind me and turn to the Witch. "Hey."

"Hi," she smiles slightly at me. "I'm sorry about what happened in there."

"I know I just joined your little troop, but you guys shouldn't be fighting over such mundane things." I walk past her, straight to the stairwell.

"Good advice," Phoebe agrees. "But that's just what we're like."

I turn and smile fondly at her. "And I look forward to getting used to that."

X

"Do you think you could, um, take out the hash browns? I'm going to go check to see if Chris is around. It's time for washing!" Piper heads towards the stairs and I look after her. "I can go check if you want. I'm really terrible at cooking."

"Okay then!"

I watch her bustle back into the kitchen with an amused scoff before grabbing the washing basket she'd abandoned and skipping upstairs. "Chris, are you up there?" I call.

There's no answer, but I can hear someone moving around in the attic so I make my way up there. He's standing by the Book of Shadows when I finally make it upstairs. He turns when I enter, somewhat distracted. "Hey Chris," I greet with a smile. "Piper was wondering if you have any laundry."

"Ahh… No. No. I'm good, thanks. I'm gonna get the sisters though. They have a demon to vanquish." He prepares to orb and I frown at his quickness. "Hey wait," I hurry towards him, placing the basket on the floor. "Need help?"

He's momentarily startled by my offer, but nods after a seconds thought. "Sure. Hold on."

I grab onto his hand and a second later we're on a beach somewhere, Chris steadies me before looking around. "Who are we after?" I ask him.

"Phoebe," he answers.

I follow after him, rounding the back of a van. The sister is there, talking to a man. A really _hot _man, dare I say so myself. "Hey," I greet her as she walks towards us."

She starts in surprise, hands flailing randomly. "Delmira, Chris, what are you doing here?"

The guy who I choose to call 'hot guy', looks to Phoebe. "Um, listen, I gotta get back. Don't be late." Phoebe turns and flashes the man a flirtatious smile. "I won't be."

The man walks away then with a wave, and she turns back to us, smile falling of her face. Chris steps forward, drawing her attention. "Trok Demon, remember?"

Phoebe huffs and rolls her eyes. "Oh, Chris, get a life."

"Come on." He reaches out and grabs her arm, still holding onto my hand. "Uff," Phoebe grunts at being grabbed, but a moment later we're in the hall of the Halliwell's home.

Chris lets her go, before turning to me. "Paige next?" I guess easily.

He nods and orbs us out of the home, Phoebe exclaiming, "Dammit Chris!" Behind her.

When we appear behind Paige, I gape at the numerous dogs she's walking. "Woah. What's with the dogs?" I ask, but Chris butts in before she can answer. "Trok Demon," he says simply.

Paige glares. "What now? Can't you see I'm working?"

Much to my amusement, a bulldog starts humping Paige's leg. I let out a snort of laughter, bending down to pet a small cocker spaniel with chocolate fur.

"Let's go," Chris says. Much to my amusement, he orbs Paige _and _the dogs back to the manor. Phoebe hurries towards us, hands swinging back and forth at her side. "Alright, can we get this started because I have to go…" Phoebe frowns at the dogs. "Where did they come from?"

"He wouldn't let me take them back first," Paige complains. I smile at her. "Who would want to take this little guy back, though?" I ask to Chris. He simply scoffs in amusement.

"Back?" Phoebe repeats.

"Yeah, I'm a... dog walker. The temp agency messed up."

Chris sighs in exasperation. "Okay, do you guys mind? We have to summon the Trok Demon while he's still on our plane." He turns towards the kitchen. "Piper!"

"Oh, Chris, lighten up. Sending us after all these demons is getting to be a real drag." Phoebe steps over a dalmatian to stand next to Paige.

"Yeah, you're working us like dogs." I laugh at Paige's pun, shrugging when Chris glares at me. "What? It was funny."

Chris ignores me. "I don't see Piper complaining."

"No, because Piper doesn't complain about anything anymore. Ever since Leo left to become an Elder, all she does is walk around the house all... chipper." I nod slowly. "I have to agree with Phoebe there. I didn't know what Piper was like before, but she's definitely _chipper _now."

"So?" Chris asks.

Paige gestures with her hand. "So, it's unusual. What's worse, it's not Piper."

Piper walks in then, talking on the phone. Perfect timing. "I'd love to have a play date. Maybe we could call Jenny and she can bring baby Josie. And then I'll bring the juice and maybe bake some muffins and... Aww, how cute!" Piper adds as she sees the dogs.

With that point proven, she disappears back into the kitchen. Phoebe looks after her with concern. "She's getting worse."

"Definitely," Paige agrees. Phoebe turns to Chris, "Do you have a spell?"

He nods. "Right out of the book. After you summon him, make sure Piper freezes him. Otherwise you'll never get the spell off." He hands the paper over to her.

Paige gathers up the leads and shoves them at me. "Here, take these guys to the attic, they'll be fine there." I nod and smile to the dogs before turning to Chris. "Coming?" I ask.

"What? Me?" Chris stuttered. I grin and tug on his arm with my free hand. "Yeah. No way am I tugging these dogs up three flights of stairs alone." I press half of the leads into his hand before guiding the dogs towards the stairs. "Come on puppies, let's go."

Chris stumbles after me, clearly not used to leading animals. I smile down at him. "They're just _dogs _Chris. They aren't going to bite… maybe."

He glares at me. "Haha," he laughs sarcastically.

We make it to the attic, Chris only tripping over the dogs _twice_ before releasing the dogs with a relieved _huff_. "If I ever have to walk a dog again it will be too soon."

"I'm sure," I say with a laugh.

Suddenly the entire building _rocks_ and I stumble, crashing into a cabinet. I swear as the wood collides with my shoulder, but then Chris is there, hauling me up and checking em over. "You alright?" He questions, mint green eyes full of concern.

"Yeah." I dust off my jeans real quick before turning to the attic door. "That came from downstairs. We should go check on the sisters."

Chris grabs onto me and before I can comprehend what's going on we're orbing downstairs. Piper is no where in sight, but Phoebe is comforting an injured Paige. "What the hell happened?" I ask, voice demanding.

"Trok demon," Phoebe says by way of explanation. At Chris's and mine's expression she rolls her eyes. "He appeared, we vanquished him. Job done."

"Are you alright?" I turn to Paige.

Slowly she peels her hand from her shoulder, anxious to truly see what her wounds look like. I turn away, making a silent gagging sound when she finally shows the deep wound. "That's nasty," I croak.

"What?" Chris asks, tone teasing. "Never seen bone before?"

Phoebe clicks her tongue disapprovingly and hits Chris on the arm. "It's not _that _deep." Paige, meanwhile, had clamped her hand back onto the wound with a grimace of pain. "Chris? Little help here?"

"With what?" Chris asks, confused.

She nods to her injured shoulder. "Heal me."

And then the most _adorably _embarrassed expression grows on his face. "I uh… can't heal."

Phoebe, meanwhile, had begun leading Paige towards the sitting room (which is apparently called a conservatory, exactly how old were these sisters?). We pass under the doorway, Paige turning with an angry glare at Chris. "What kind of Whitelighter can't heal?"

Chris bristles. "For the record, you can't heal either."

"I'm half-whitelighter." I frown. What exactly does that mean? Isn't Chris half Whitelighter as well? "How come you didn't tell us about this before we hired you?"

"Because you didn't hire me. I was assigned by the Elders."

I grin, "Ooh! Burn."

Phoebe returns then- wait when had she left? She carries a tube, no doubt medicine for Paige's injury. "Any other little surprises you would like the share with us?"

"No." Phoebe sits down next to Paige, tending to her wounds. "Look, I haven't been a Whitelighter very long, okay? And healing, it's big, and takes a little while to learn how to do."

"Great. Student-lighter."

"Okay, you could've told us about this like, I don't know, maybe a month ago," Paige adds.

"Well, I know one thing for sure, we're gonna stop all this demon fighting for a while." I frown at Phoebe, and before I can ask why Chris beats me to it. "Wait, why?"

"Can somebody please fold the towels in the dryer when it's done?" I nearly jump at Piper's sudden shout. Why the hell was she worrying about towels when one of her sisters nearly had their arm blown off?

Phoebe gestures pointedly. "That's why."

Piper appears then. Wyatt sits snugly in her arms and I smile at him kindly when his eyes meet mine. "I put a casserole in the oven, you can check it in about an hour or so. I will be at the club if you need me. Have fun!"

"Oh my god, she is so sad," Phoebe comments when Piper leaves.

"Sad?" Page repeats. "Where are you getting sad from?"

"How about this." Chris suddenly butts in, frustrated. I totally get where he's coming from, I'd be annoyed too if no one was listening to me. "Three more demons, then we can talk about taking a little break."

"What, do you have a quota or something?"

"Look, I've already told you this before. I know from future knowledge that a demon is gonna come after Wyatt. These are all pre-emptive strikes."

Woah! Wait what? Future knowledge what now?

"Okay, look, Chris, we like you a lot. But we have been doing this a lot longer than you have. Trust me, you have to pace yourself and you gotta let us have a life. Ooh, speaking of which, I have to go get ready for my lunch date."

Paige grins. "Oh, I didn't know your boss was back in town."

"No, it's not with Jason, it's with Chad, the DJ, who I'm not really interested in."

"Two demons, how about that? Two." Chris has his arms crossed in frustration and I try a joke to ease the tension, "Two and a half."

He simply rolls his eyes at me, but there's a small amused tilt to his lips now.

Mission accomplished.

"No, Chris. And especially not until we figure out what's wrong with Piper, and more importantly Piper's powers."

"I swear, I think Leo did something to her before he left." I look to Chris for explanation of Paige's words, who was Leo? But he's too focused on trying to reason with the girls.

"You know what? I think it's about time we orb him down here and ask him." Orb? Huh. Maybe Leo is a Whitelighter then. That would make sense, given how powerful these sisters seemed. They'd need as much guidance as they could get.

"I don't think that's possible."

"Well, then make it possible. Look, even if he doesn't care about Piper as his wife, as an Elder he at the very least should care about what happened to her powers," Phoebe reasoned. An Elder? Woah! That's awesome.

"I can't."

"Yeah, you can," Paige argued. "You just go up there and tell him to get his butt down here."

"That's not why I can't. Look, I didn't wanna tell you this because I didn't want to worry you two but... Leo's missing." Phoebe does a double take. "What?"

"Missing? How long?"

"Since the last time you saw him. Anyway, the Elders think he's been kidnapped."

"By whom?" Phoebe's question is left unanswered, and I glance hesitantly at Chris. "We should try to find him then, right? If he's been kidnapped?"

"The Elders have tried to locate him, but they haven't found him yet, not even with their power," Chris explained calmly.

Phoebe raised her hands in exasperation. "Well… We have to tell Piper about this. She deserves to know." Paige looks, somewhat nervously at her sister, "Do you really think that's a good idea? She has a lot to worry about already."

"I'd want to know," I comment. "If someone close to me was missing."

"That settles it then! Let me go grab my car keys and we can head down to P3." Phoebe turns and disappears into the kitchen, Paige follows after her after giving me a somewhat thankful look. I shrug off her gratitude, I'd only spoken the truth.

Chris fumed silently next to me, fists clenched at his sides. I turn to him and try to intertwine my hand with his, but he stubbornly crosses his arms with a huff. "I just don't get them."

"If you want to hunt demons, I can help you," I offer. "Besides. You're a Witch, why don't you just vanquish some demons?" His eyes widen at my words, and he immediately glances to the kitchen as though checking to see if anyone had heard my words. "What?" I ask.

"They don't know I'm half Witch, and they can't."

I blink, my own eyes widening. "You're lying to them?"

"Not exactly," he grabs onto my elbow and guides me towards the sitting room. Distantly, I hear the front door slam shut with a goodbye shouted from Phoebe. "I can't explain everything, but to be brief I'm sort of undercover."

My brow quirks. "Undercover? What, are you a spy?"

"No," he runs his hands through his hair, frustrated. "There's a lot you don't know, and I just hope you can trust me still, now that you know I'm not telling you everything."

There's something so raw about his words, eyes filled with fear, as though he truly does worry I might not trust him anymore. Chris's mint green eyes keep my gaze as I try to process what he's saying. Finally my brow evens, frown dissipating. "You're not in trouble, are you?"

"I will be if I don't protect Wyatt."

The conviction in his tone is what settles me. Whatever crap he's trying to hide from the sisters, and from me, doesn't matter. He wants to protect a baby boy and there's no way in hell I'm going to be the one to stop him.

"For some weird reason, I trust you Chris. I just hope I'm making the right choice."

As soon as my words leave my mouth Chris's face breaks into the biggest grin. At that moment I realize how tough it must be for him. There's no one he seems to share his true worries with, no one he can be _himself _with. Yeah, maybe he'd admitted some small truths to me, but there's always an air of deceit around him, even with me.

"Thank you, Mira." His words come out in a breathless gasp and I can't help but match his smile. I slowly reach out to grab his hand, and this time he lets me. "I don't expect anything Chris, but if you ever need to talk then I'm here for you."

His eyes moisten slightly and he gazes at me with eyes full of hope. "Mira…" He breathed my name and I shudder as it rolls deliciously off his lips.

We fall silent then, conversing solely with our weighted gazes. Chris's eyes full of astonishment, and mine filled with every ounce of comfort I can pour into them. I want him to know that I mean what I say, every single syllable. Maybe then his burden won't be so heavy.

"So uh," I finally speak up, breaking the silence. "If it's any help, I'm more than happy to gank a few demons for you. You know, fire power and all."

To my confusion, Chris immediately shook his head. "No."

"What?"

"The things we need to kill- They're going to be upper-level demons."

I quirk a brow, heavy feeling settling in my stomach. "I've dealt with more than my fair share of them. I once took on three of those creeps at once."

"No," He re enforces. "This is a job for the Power of Three, which is why the sisters need to straighten their priorities."

"But until they do-"

Chris cut me off. "We wait. Now, I'm going to go and get us lunch."

Then he went ahead and orbed, right in front of me. "Chris!" I shout, not knowing or caring if he can hear me. "As much as I appreciate the gesture, you're not gonna change my mind that easily!"

When he didn't return straight away, I huffed in annoyance. With angry strides I left for the attic, taking the steps two at a time. The Book of Shadows still rests on the pedestal and I take to it in a whirlwind, flicking through pages for the right spell.

"What are you doing?" I don't bother looking up at Chris's question. With a simple shrug I flick the page again. "Searching for a spell."

"Why?" Chris asks, tone becoming light with amusement.

I look up then, eyes snapping sharply to settle on his face. "You're not listening to me."

"So… what then? You're going to create me a new set of ears?"

"No," I grumble. With a sight I step from the pedestal, approaching him slowly. "I don't like being treated as though I can't handle myself. I've survived over twenty years on my own Chris. Even though I now know three powerful Witches and their Whitelighter, that doesn't change the fact I can still take care of myself."

Chris's determined fire that burns behind his eyes slowly calms. He steps forward and grabs my hands, turning them over and examining them with a guarded gaze. "When I asked you to kill the demon in that cave… I wasn't thinking about you. I didn't care if you survived or not. All I worried about was the mission, protecting Wyatt. Which meant I had to get out of there as soon as possible, no matter the cost."

His voice grew quiet towards the end of his admission. Despite his words I didn't feel betrayed or angry whatsoever. I should be feeling abused… _or something_, but maybe I was too messed up. He did _basically _just say that he was willing to let me _die_.

"Now though, now I don't know what I'm doing. It would make sense to let you help me, to send you after an all manner of creatures. Except I can't." He threads our fingers together lightly, his longer digits wrapping comfortingly around mine. "I've lost people in the past in battles, and I don't want to lose you like that."

I let out a small sigh, understanding dawning on my features. Slowly I pulled him to me, and he wrapped his arms around my middle as I rested my head on his shoulder. "Thank you Chris, for telling me."

"You still want to fight though," He stated, rather than asked.

I looked up at him, my ochre eyes boring into his mint green ones. "It's the right thing to do. I mean, protecting that adorable little boy and kicking demon ass at the same time? How could I say no?"

He lets out a small laugh that I'm greatly thankful for. Slowly he pulls back, nodding slightly to himself. "Alright," Chris agreed, voice somewhat apprehensive but otherwise relenting entirely. "But lunch first."

X

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, favs and follows! I was intending to finish the entirety of the episode in one chapter but it seems it may take up to four, which is rather daunting to consider.

If you're curious when Chris and Mira will finally kiss, it won't be until past Chris Crossed as I intend to deal with the issue of Bianca rather than dismiss her as 'simply cannon', and therefore not include her in my fic.


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